RallyNorth.net

Sat, Oct 06, 2007 05:30 PM @ Manchester Essex

Team	Final
Greater Lowell	22
Manchester Essex	23

Hornets earn win thanks to last-second defensive stop

Monday, October, 08 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

The cardiac kids did it again.

The Manchester Essex football team was once again put in a situation where they had to grab victory from the jaws of defeat, and once again they came through, defeating Greater Lowell, 23-22, Saturday at Endicott College.

The Hornets led by a point with eight seconds to play and Greater Lowell with the ball at the Manchester Essex 2-yard line. But the Hornets defense swarmed Gryphons running back Dennis Leach on a potential game-winning run to preserve the victory.

The Hornets (4-1) have now won three games in the last minute of play. Earlier in the season the Hornets stuffed Pope John on a two-point conversion to come away with a 27-26 win. One week later, Manchester was down by two touchdowns with four minutes to play, but was able to rally to win 21-14 in overtime.

The Hornets will now host Commonwealth Large foe Whittier Tech on Saturday at Endicott College (5:30 p.m.).

"We really battled tonight," Hornets head coach Mike Athanas said. "They were a big physical team and we stayed with them for four quarters. It came down to us making the big plays in the end."

The Hornets made a number of big plays when the game was on the line. Down 22-16 with two minutes to go, the Hornets put together a two-play 62-yard drive that culminated with quarterback Pat Orlando hooking up with split end Sam Cohen for a 30-yard touchdown to give Manchester Essex a 23-22 lead.

Greater Lowell (2-3) would get the ball back starting at their own 11-yard line. Quarterback Ricky Sheehan would then find Dennis Leach for a 63-yard screen pass to bring Greater Lowell to the 26-yard line. The Gryphons moved the ball down to the 2-yard line, where they were stuffed by the Hornets defense with no time remaining.

"This team never gets down," said Cohen, who also intercepted a pass on a key Greater Lowell fourth down. "If we fall behind we never quit and we keep playing hard. That's why we have been so successful at the end of games this year." The Gryphons drew first blood when Sheehan hooked up with Chris Puzzo for an 11-yard touchdown to put them up 7-0. The Hornets would answer back in the second quarter on a one-play 12-second drive when Orlando hooked up with Cohen for a 57-yard score. Brian Ciccone would punch in the two-point conversion to put Manchester Essex up 8-7.

Greater Lowell took a 9-7 lead when a bad snap went out of the back of the end zone for a safety. But the Hornets would take the lead when Cohen made a circus catch in the back of the end zone, catching the ball in stride and managing to get a foot in bounds. Ciccone would add another two-point conversion to give the Hornets a 16-9 lead at the half. Cohen credited Orlando for making a great throw on the late touchdown.

"Pat threw a really good ball," Cohen said. "He threw it where only I could catch it. When I got my hands on the ball I caught the out of bounds line in the corner of my eye and I was able to get a foot in bounds."

The Gryphons appeared to take control of the game in the third quarter, putting together a 15-play eight minute drive that ended with Sheehan punching it in from two yards out. Greater Lowell would then take the lead with 1:57 to play on Leach's 2-yard run. That's when the Hornets took over.

Orlando powered the Hornets offense with 207 yards passing and three touchdowns. Cohen was the Hornets' leading receiver with 114 yards and three touchdowns on three catches.

Gryphons' head coach Dennis Murphy was happy with his team's effort, and lauded Orlando for his play.

"We were very well-prepared and we gave a good effort," Murphy said. "Orlando proved that he is one of the best. Without him the outcome probably would have been a lot different."